Forever
by Raven Layne
Summary: COMPLETE ficlet. The pilots have been a family for almost forty years when one loses his spouse. Pairings Heero and Duo, Wufei and Relena. Deathfic, but I promise the pilots are all alive and well at the end!


**Title:** Forever  
**Genres:** Angst  
**Warnings:** Character death, OLD pilots, rambling sentences.  
**Characters/Pairings:** Duo/Heero (main), Wufei/Relena, Quatre, Trowa (not paired)  
**Word Count:** 630  
**Rating:** G

A/N: Death of a major character, but I promise all former Gundam pilots survive this fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, its characters or anything associated with the anime.

Duo kicked the door from the garage to the family room shut as he entered the house, with bags of groceries weighting each arm. Years of practice allowed him to cross the large space in the relative darkness, easily dodging furniture that hadn't been rearranged since he and Heero had bought the place nearly a decade before.

He made his way up the short flight of stairs to the kitchen, noisily dropping his bags to the floor with a curse, and flipping on the light switch. Only when the light was shed through the wrought iron railing that separated the kitchen from overlooking the sunken room that he'd just walked through did he notice that his husband was sitting at the desk in the den below.

He briefly studied the other man, taking in his slumped posture, the wadded tissue clutched in one hand, and the other hand threaded through hair that was now more silver than brown, as he leaned with his elbow on the desktop.

Forgetting all about his parcels littering the linoleum, he swiftly moved down the steps toward his husband.

"Why are you sitting here in the dark, Babe?" Duo questioned, placing one hand on Heero's shoulder, squeezing gently.

When he lifted his face, wet trails of tears shone against his cheeks, and his blue eyes were red and weary.

"Wufei called," he said, gesturing toward the phone.

Duo sank to his knees in concern, his right hand remaining on Heero's shoulder, his left falling to grip his husband's knee.

"What is it? What did he say?"

"Relena." Heero choked, swallowing hard past the lump that had taken residence in his throat. "She had a heart attack."

"Oh, God." Duo breathed. "Is she ok?"

"No."

Heero didn't need to say anything more, the fresh tears that began spilling down his face told the rest of the story.

Her funeral was held on a glorious spring day. The sun was shining brightly over the private cemetery where five men who had considered each other family for nearly forty years were gathered to mourn the loss of Relena Peacecraft-Dorlian-Chang.

"She would have loved the service," Quatre said softly, running his fingers in a gentle caress across the closed lid of the white coffin. "The flowers are beautiful."

"Yes, she would have," agreed Trowa. He squeezed the shoulder of his heart's brother, who was valiantly attempting to keep his tears at bay as he gazed skyward, looking anywhere but at the box that held his beloved wife's body.

Heero and Duo stood slightly back from the rest of the group, each gripping the other's hand tightly.

The former pilot of Wing stepped forward, releasing his husband's hand with a glance back at him.

"Wufei," he said softly, gaining the Chinese man's attention. "None of us can fathom what you are feeling right now, but we will be here if you need us. She was a wonderful woman, and we all loved her."

"I know," Wufei whispered, not trusting his voice.

Duo stepped forward, and pulled the white-haired man into his embrace, stroking gently over the sleek hair still worn in a tight ponytail.

"You had a special love, you two. Just because she's gone, doesn't mean it's over. They always say true love never dies, and I believe it."

Wufei nodded against Duo's shoulder as unwanted tears finally escaped his eyes.

"Thank you," he said hoarsely, as he pulled away.

The group paid their final respects to the woman who had been instrumental in bringing and retaining peace to the Earth and colonies, had been a dear friend, and beloved wife.

As they stepped away from the graveside, Heero squeezed Duo's hand once more, and whispered his own words back to him.

"True love never dies."

End


End file.
